


magic - beautiful or deadly?

by tash_xo



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Rapunzel!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 15:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9078109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tash_xo/pseuds/tash_xo
Summary: Princess Lily has been locked in a tower for eight years, all her own doing, of course. It was the only way to keep her family and kingdom safe from the dangerous power manifesting inside of her. But when a mysterious group of wizards, calling themselves the Marauders, arrive to ask for her help in a war against dark wizards, she feels compelled to aid them. And she most definitely does not feel any attraction whatsoever to one James Potter.





	

A princess, locked in a tower, gazed curiously out of the window, her auburn hair falling over her eyes. She hadn’t left the tower for over seven years. She wasn’t complaining, she had gone to the tower to keep herself, and everyone around her, safe. But there were days when she wished she didn’t have to stay there.

Her tower had been built especially for her, was made so that she would be comfortable. She had placed herself in the tower, after her family had discovered her dangerous, evil power. Magic users were outlawed, locked away, because magic had brought nothing but harm to their kingdom. When it was discovered that the princess had magic, at the mere age of eleven years old, she told her parents she would lock herself away. They had smiled sadly at her, but had agreed nonetheless.

 _“You must understand, darling, this isn’t because we don’t care about in. We’re doing this because we love you. And we must keep you safe. But we must also keep the kingdom safe, and your sister safe. Your presence here endangers all the staff, but it also endangers Petunia, and we can’t have anything happening to either of our girls.”_  
Her mother had kissed her forehead, before promising to make her as comfortable as possible. She was a princess, always would be a princess, so she would never want for anything, but she had to put some distance between herself and her kingdom, because magic was just too unpredictable to be allowed in the kingdom.

Her parents had visited her often in the first few years of her confinement, but the visits became few and far between, as the magical rebels became more and more notorious. They stopped completely after a tragic accident at sea, leaving her an orphan and her sister became Queen.

Petunia was always going to become Queen, Lily had always known that, had always believed that she would be a fair and just ruler, and she was, to the non-magical population. She became extremely harsh towards the magic users, blaming them for their parent’s deaths. She still wrote to Lily, but her demeanor towards her sister was also becoming more and more hostile, even though she knew Lily had absolutely no control over the power she held. Lily couldn’t write back, because she had no way of getting someone to give the letter to her sister.

* * *

 

It was Lily’s nineteenth birthday, yet another year she had to spend completely by herself. Of course, she completely understood why she had to spend it alone, she just wasn’t happy with it. She didn’t ask for magic, magic she couldn’t control, but she could safely say it had ruined her life. It ruined her life eight years ago, when she had left the castle, her kingdom, her family, to live in solitary confinement ( _though the tower was pretty cosy_ ).

She’d gotten pretty good at cooking ( _one of the royal guards always delivered groceries but never stayed to cook_ ) because she didn’t have much to do during the day. Her tower was always locked, so she couldn’t go outside( _for everyone else’s safety, she wasn’t a prisoner_ ), could only read and draw and cook. She’d made herself birthday cupcakes every year, a different recipe every year ( _always leaving a little grocery list for the guard that brought her supplies_ ), so she got the candles and matches and lit one of the candles. Humming ‘Happy Birthday To Me’ softly, she closed her eyes and wished the same wish she always wished on her birthday ( _for her life to become more interesting than the monotonous lifestyle she had lead for eight years_ ).

She opened her eyes, and blew out the candle. Or at least, she attempted to blow out the candle. It stayed put, didn’t even waver slightly. She sighed, this happened every year. It was almost as if the candle didn’t want to be blown out. She closed her eyes again, and took a deep breath, and blew again. The candle went out this time, and she smiled to herself, satisfied, and proceeded to eat her red velvet cupcake, oblivious to her small use of magic.

* * *

 

Her magic often surprised her. Sometimes it would be small things, for instance, one day she went to sleep thinking about cutting her hair shorter, and had woken up with it the exact length she had wanted. Other times, it was loud and obnoxious, like when she had found out about her parent’s deaths and the tower had begun shaking and crumbling, until she got a grip on her emotions.

Her parents had given her every book on magic, to give her the best chance they could at combating it. There were schools for magic users, in other kingdoms that allowed the use of magic, that taught magicians to wield their power, to control it. But the most dangerous magicians emerged from those schools, including the ones who led the resistance against her parents and her sister’s regime against magic users. She read about one of the more powerful magicians, or _wizards_ as they called themselves, an older man named Albus Dumbledore. He was somewhat of a mentor to the younger magic users, as he was the headteacher at one of the magic schools, but he was also one of the leaders of the resistance. There was also a small group of rebels, who were close with Dumbledore, who protested through disruption. They called themselves marauders, causing magical mischief to bring attention to their cause.

Dumbledore and the Marauders were the somewhat peaceful side to the rebellion, but there was a reckless, dark side to the magical resistance, those who maimed, killed, all because her parents hadn’t wished magical users to be in the kingdom, hadn’t wanted them to cause harm to anyone. The worst of them went by the name Voldemort. Some called him a Lord, though Lily had met most of the Lords in the realm, and had never met one by the name Voldemort. He was the prime example of magic being dark, dangerous, and it was because of him that many didn’t trust magicians. It was because of him that Lily hated the godforsaken power she possessed.

* * *

 

It had only been a few weeks since her birthday when she heard voices from the forest surrounding her tower. Which was rare. Her tower was in such an obscure position that barely anyone stumbled across it by accident. Her curiosity spiked, she went to her window and gazed out, suddenly desperate to see another person for the first time in years. The voices were decidedly male, and they sounded quite at ease with one another, because at least one of them was always laughing. They got closer, and she edged away from the window slightly, because, as much as she want to see them, she didn’t necessarily want them to see her.

They stepped into the small clearing in front of her tower, and she breathed in sharply, amazed at seeing four young men standing below her. They all looked roughly around her age, though due to her limited connection to the outside world she could have been completely off. Three of them were tall, with the fourth standing behind them, seeming even smaller than he was due to his slouch. The man closest to her window had mousy brown hair, and was very lanky, with light scars cutting across his features. The man next to him had unruly black curls atop hi head, and his grey eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement. The small man reminded her oddly of a rat, with his pointed nose and very small eyes, and he seemed very timid, standing behind the other three men with him. The fourth man had very untidy black hair, which seemed to stick up in odds and ends all over the place, and wire frame glasses that covered bright, hazel eyes.

“Think we’ve found the right place lads?” The man with the curly hair smirked as he stared up at the tower.  
“No, I don’t think this is the right place, Padfoot, I just wanted to take an unnecessary detour because I appreciate the scenery.” The man with the scars deadpanned.

Lily backed away from the window, suddenly fearful. They’d been looking for a tower, her tower. Did that mean they had been looking for _her_? Barely anyone knew where she was, only Petunia and a handful of palace guards who brought her supplies. None of them would have told anyone where to find her. And what did they want with her anyway?

She started pacing the wall opposite the window, oblivious to the fact that one of the men had just climbed in through the window.

“Hi there, are you the princess?” Lily screamed. The man just started laughing. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”  
“You didn’t mean to scare me? What did you mean to do, by breaking in here? Did you think I was expecting you?”  
“Course not, but I kind of expected you to be aware that I was coming in, I wasn’t exactly silent.”

She glared at him, realising that it was the man with the glasses that had broken into her room.

“Let me start again. I’m James, James Potter, pleased to meet you. Me and my mates have been looking for Princess Lily. If that’s not you, I’m terribly sorry for disturbing you, but we heard she’s in a tower and this is the only one for miles.”  
“Why are you looking for the princess?”  
“We think it’s a bit suspicious that she just up and disappeared eight years ago. We also think she might be able to help us.”

Gears were turning inside of Lily’s head; they thought she could _help_ them? How on earth could _she_ help _them_?

“So, are you the princess, or not? Because if not, we’d better be on our way.”  
Lily took a deep breath, then admitted, “I’m Lily Evans, and I am the princess you’re looking for.”  
James Potter gave her a toothy grin. “Pleased to meet you, Princess.”  
“The feeling isn’t mutual, Potter. And don’t call me Princess. I haven’t been in the kingdom for a while now.”  
“Alright, I’ll call you Evans then. Seems fair, if you’re going to be calling me Potter. Now, how ‘bout we go down and I’ll introduce you to my mates, yeah?”

“No.” Potter looked at her curiously.  
“Why on earth not?”  
“Because you’re a guy that just broke into my room, and I don’t trust you. Plus, I haven’t left this tower in eight years. And I’m not climbing out of the window.”

He stared at her, slightly confused. “You haven’t left this tower in _eight years_?”  
“No. And I don’t plan to leave anytime soon.”  
“Whyever not? Are you being kept prisoner? I didn’t see any guards.”  
“I’m not a prisoner. I chose to come to the tower. Besides, the tower’s locked, for the safety of everyone else. It’s better if I’m in here. This way, I can’t harm anyone. Though I’m not too bothered if I hurt you.”

Potter had a strained expression. “You are a prisoner, Evans. You’re just so accustomed to the prejudices of your kingdom that you’ve imprisoned yourself too. That’s why you don’t realise it.” He told her softly. Lily took a step backwards, jolted by his words. “You’re in here because you have magic, correct?” She nodded slightly. “Your magic is only dangerous if you don’t learn how to control it. Other than that, it’s not the magic that’s dangerous, it’s the man or woman wielding it.” Lily must have looked confused,because James decided to rephrase his words.

“Magic can be used as a weapon, yes. But a sword is also a weapon, is it not? A sword isn’t inherently good or evil, rather the person who uses it. A sword can be used for good or for evil, but the sword doesn’t make a person evil, rather, the person makes the sword do evil things. Magic is the same. It’s only dangerous when a dangerous person is using it. And you, Evans, don’t strike me as the type of person who would use magic for nefarious purposes.”

Lily couldn’t comprehend what he was saying to her. “How - how do you know this?”

Potter smiled sadly. “I’m a wizard, just like you. My family have had magic for generations, and we’ve only used it when the occasion called for it, not wanting to startle the muggles - sorry, non magical folks. My parents were killed by other wizards, dark wizards, who use magic for greed and reckless purposes. They’re the dangerous kind. I promise you, I am not.”

Lily nodded, indicating that she believed him. She was going to trust what he said, even if it did seem like a stupid idea.

* * *

 

Flying broomsticks were a thing. Lily had thought they were only figments of the imagination of authors who wrote compelling fantasy stories about witches and dragons and pixies.After Potter had realised there was no other way to leave than the way he had come in, he told her they would have to fly. On his broomstick.

She’d taken a leap of faith when she’d trusted him, but he hadn’t appeared to be lying to her. And anyways, if he was lying and was actually going to kill her, it’s not like it would make any impact on anyone. She didn’t have any relationships worth saving.

He introduced her to his friends and travelling companions: Remus Lupin ( _scars_ ), Sirius Black ( _curls_ ) and Peter Pettigrew ( _small_ ). She found out that they were all magicians ( _wizards!_ ) and had met at a magic school in a neighbouring kingdom.

It was only after introductions had been made that she learned why they had been sent to find her.

“Dumbledore thought we should get you out. Nineteen years old and still not in control of your magic. It’s not exactly a good thing.” Sirius started.  
“He would like to help you learn how to control it.” Remus continued. “And he thought that you’d be more receptive to people your own age, rather than an aging old wizard.”

“Did you say Dumbledore? Isn’t he one of the leaders of the resistance against my sister’s regime?”

Remus rubbed his hand against the back of his neck awkwardly.  
“He is, but he also doesn’t judge people for the actions of their family. And he’s not killing anyone either. All he wants is for your sister to accept that wizards are human beings too, that not all of us are dangerous.” Peter explained, his voice more timid than those of his friends.

“He doesn’t want me to help you, does he? Because there’s no way I could convince my sister to change her mind. We haven’t seen each other since I was eleven.”

The four boys looked at each other. “He doesn’t want you to fight in the rebellion, Evans. He does, however, believe that you would be very helpful in the war that’s coming to the wizarding world.” James admitted.

“War?”  
“You’ve heard of Dumbledore, so I presume you’ve also heard of Voldemort?” Remus inquired, the other three breathing in sharply at the name. When Lily nodded, he continued. “Voldemort - sorry, the name is sort of taboo, so from now on I’ll be using the term You-Know-Who - is a fanatic. Believes that magical blood should be pure. Believes that the Kings and Queens should be of magical blood, and magical blood alone. He’s begun waging war against us, killing innocents, magical and non-magical alike. Dumbledore believes that you could help us fight him.”

“But how can I help?”  
“I guess we’ll find out.”

* * *

 

They had only been walking for ten minutes when Lily finds out that her companions are the famed Marauders. Needless to say, she’d shocked that they’re so young yet so talented, but her shock over their combined identity is forgotten when they reach an old tree stump, and Remus pulled out an old compass.

“Your compass is magnetised, Remus. It won’t lead you anywhere.” Lily pointed out.  
The Marauders smiled knowingly, before Peter explains.  
“The compass is what we call a portkey. It’s charmed so that at a certain time, it will transport us to a certain place. As long as we’re all holding on, of course.”

“It’s about to leave. Lily, hold on.” She didn’t really understand what was going on, but she put her hand on the unusable compass anyway. James grabbed her hand and whispered _“hold on tight”_ as they were ripped from the ground and sent hurtling towards the kingdom where Dumbledore dwelled.


End file.
